Acquisition of items offered for  purchase online through a global  positioning system

ABSTRACT

In an example embodiment, a method is provided. The method may comprise receiving an item identifier from a global positioning system (GPS) apparatus. Data associated with the item identifier is accessed and transmitted to initiate a purchase of the item. In some embodiments, a voice portal may be used to facilitate the purchase.

RELATED APPLICATION

Priority is claimed to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/772,856,issued as U.S. Pat. No. ______, and entitled ACQUISITION OF ONLINEAUCTION ITEMS THROUGH A GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM, filed May 3, 2010,which claims priority to, and to which priority is further claimed, U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/870,542, issued as U.S. Pat. No.7,729,953, and entitled ACQUISITION OF ONLINE AUCTION ITEMS THROUGH AGLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM, filed Oct. 11, 2007, both of which are herebyincorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to computer software. In anexample embodiment, the disclosure relates to the acquisition of itemsoffered for purchase through a global positioning system.

BACKGROUND

An online auction is a publicly held sale over a computer network atwhich users may bid on or purchase auction items. A user may search forauction items and, in response to the search, a list of auction itemsfrom the search may be displayed. Each auction item may be located indifferent locations. In order for a user to determine the locations ofthe auction items, the user must laboriously read through alldescriptions associated with the auction items. The list of descriptionsmakes the identification of auction item locations extremely difficult,especially when the user does not have much time to read through thedescriptions, such as when the user is on the road.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example and notlimitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which likereferences indicate similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an online auction mapping system, in accordancewith an example embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of modules included in a GPSapparatus, in accordance with an example embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a general overview of a method, inaccordance with an example embodiment, for acquiring an auction itemwith the use of a GPS apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a general overview of a method, inaccordance with an example embodiment, for acquiring an auction itemwith the locations of the auction items displayed;

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a graphical user interface, in accordance with anexample embodiment, of a map with locations of auction items;

FIG. 6 is a simplified block diagram of a module included in an onlineauction server, in accordance with an example embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a general overview of a method, inaccordance with an example embodiment, for accessing auction data froman online auction server;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of a general overview of a method, inaccordance with an example embodiment, for accessing auction data froman online auction server in response to a selection of an auction item;and

FIG. 9 is a simplified block diagram of a machine or apparatus in theexample form of a computer system within which a set of instructions,for causing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein, may be executed.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of an example embodiment of the present disclosure. Itwill be evident, however, to one skilled in the art that the presentdisclosure may be practiced without these specific details.

Overview

Methods, global positioning system (GPS) apparatuses, systems, andgraphical user interfaces are provided for acquiring auction items. Inbrief, a GPS apparatus may display a map with locations of auctionitems. If a user wants to acquire a particular auction item displayed onthe map, the user may select the auction item. As explained in moredetail below, the user may then receive a telephone call from the onlineauction providing options to acquire the auction item. The user may thenacquire the auction item through transactions over the telephone.

Example Embodiments

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an online auction mapping system 100, inaccordance with an example embodiment. Online auction mapping system 100may include GPS satellite 114, GPS apparatus 102, online auction server106, voice portal server 109, and telephone 108. To facilitate onlineauction transactions, GPS satellite 114, GPS apparatus 102, onlineauction server 106, voice portal server 109, and telephone 108 are incommunication. Communication can be, for example, through a computernetwork, which can include a local area network (LAN), a Wide AreaNetwork (WAN), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) network,Internet, or through other connections. In another example,communication can be wireless, which can include Global System forMobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), GPSbroadcast signal, and other wireless communication.

In general, GPS apparatus 102 may be a computing device that receivesGPS broadcast signals from GPS satellite 114 and translates the GPSbroadcast signals into position or location data (e.g., longitude andlatitude). GPS apparatus 102 may include a display for providinglocation information. For example, as explained in more detail below,the display may include graphical user interface (GUI) 116 of a map withlocations of auction items. Examples of GPS apparatus 102 include GPSnavigation systems, computers with GPS receivers, personal digitalassistants, mobile phones, and other GPS apparatuses. In an exampleembodiment, GPS apparatus 102 is portable. Examples of portable GPSapparatuses include mobile computers (e.g., laptop computers), mobilephones, personal digital assistants, handheld game consoles, digitalaudio players, and other GPS apparatuses.

As shown in FIG. 1, GPS apparatus 102 includes auction mappingapplication programming interface (API) module 112. As explained in moredetail below, auction mapping API module 112 may be configured toretrieve locations of auction items and to map the locations of theauction items on a map. A user may input a search query through GPSapparatus 102 to find one or more auction items on an online auctionthat match the search query. Briefly, an online auction is a publiclyheld sale over a computer network at which users may bid on or purchaseauction items. Auction items may include goods, digital goods, services,properties, locations of auction kiosks, and other auction items.Examples of goods include electronic devices, toys, cars, and othergoods. Examples of digital goods may include digital music, video files,and other digital goods. Services may include, for example, gardeningservices, jobs, and other services. Auction kiosks are stores thatassist a user to sell auction items on online auctions.

GPS apparatus 102 transmits the search query to online auction server106. As shown in FIG. 1, the search query, along with the location ofGPS apparatus 102, may be included in request for auction data 140,which is transmitted from the GPS apparatus to online auction server106. Online auction server 106 is a computer server that hosts onlineauction application module 110. Online auction module 110 is anapplication software that handles the transactions associated with anonline auction. In response to receiving the request, as explained inmore detail below, online auction server 106 searches for auction itemsthat match the search query and transmits auction data 142 from thesearch to GPS apparatus 102. Auction data 142 includes a variety of dataassociated with one or more auction items. For example, auction data 142may include item descriptions, item prices, metadata, item locations,user identifiers, auction item identifiers, and other data associatedwith the auction item. With auction data 142, GPS apparatus 102 may thendisplay the locations of auction items that match the search query on amap.

Still referring to FIG. 1, a user may thereafter select one or moreauction items identified on the map to acquire, and GPS apparatus 102transmits the selection to online auction server 106. In response,online auction server 106 accesses auction data 142 associated with theselection and transmits the auction data to voice portal server 109. Ingeneral, voice portal server 109 delivers content to telephone 108.Voice portal server 109 may host a variety of voice-based applications,such as voice recognition applications and directory assistanceapplications. Voice portal server 109 receives auction data 142 andcalls telephone 108, which may belong to the user of GPS apparatus 102.Voice portal server 109 then provides a voice rendering of the auctiondata to telephone 108. For example, voice portal server 109 may calltelephone 108 and provide a voice rendering of an identification of theselected auction item, a price associated with the auction item, and adescription of the auction item. Voice portal server 109 mayadditionally provide options to acquire the auction item. Through theuse of telephone 108, a user can make a request to acquire auction item146, which is transmitted to voice portal server 109. Voice portalserver 109 then transmits or relays request to acquire auction item 146to online auction server 106. Upon receiving request to acquire auctionitem 146, online auction server 106 completes the transaction associatedwith the acquisition of the auction item.

Although a client-server architecture is used in the example embodimentshown in FIG. 1, it should be appreciated that other architectures, likea distributed architecture or peer-to-peer architecture, can also beused for handling transactions associated with an online auction.

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of modules included in a GPSapparatus, in accordance with an example embodiment. GPS apparatus 102includes auction mapping API module 112 that manages the softwareprocesses and/or services associated with the acquisition of an auctionitem on an online auction. As shown in FIG. 2, these software processesand/or services may include GPS interface module 202, API servicesmodule 204, and location plotter module 206. GPS interface module 202interfaces with other modules within GPS apparatus 102 that determinethe location of the GPS apparatus. Location may include a variety ofdescriptions that identify a specific place, area, or point on a map.Location may, for example, include longitude and latitude. In anotherexample, location may include the street address of a location. In stillanother example, location may be a zip code. GPS interface module 202 isconfigured to receive the location of GPS apparatus 102. In other words,auction mapping API module 112 receives the location of GPS apparatus102 by way of GPS interface module 202.

API services module 204 is configured to process a variety oftransactions associated with the acquisition of one or more auctionitems on an online auction. For example, as explained in more detailbelow, API services module 204 may be configured to receive a searchquery associated with the online auction and may transmit a request forauction data. API services module 204 may further receive the auctiondata in response to transmitting the request. Furthermore, as explainedin more detail below, API services module 204 may receive a selection ofthe auction item and transmit an auction item identifier that isassociated with the auction item to an online auction server. With thereceipt of the location of the auction item and the auction data,location plotter module 206 is configured to plot the location of one ormore auction items on a map.

It should be appreciated that in other example embodiments, auctionmapping API module 112 may include fewer or more modules apart fromthose shown in FIG. 2. For example, GPS interface module 202 may beintegrated together with API services module 204 to form one module.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a general overview of a method, inaccordance with an example embodiment, for acquiring an auction itemwith the use of a GPS apparatus. In an example embodiment, method 300may be implemented by the auction mapping API module of FIG. 2, employedin a GPS apparatus, such as the GPS apparatus shown FIGS. 1 and 2. Asshown in FIG. 3, in an example embodiment, a search query is received at302. The search query is associated with an online auction and mayinclude a variety of alphanumeric characters and symbols associated withthe online auction that may be searched. For example, search query mayinclude keywords, texts, sentences, query languages, numbers, questions,equations, and other search queries. In an example, the search query maybe used to search for titles of an auction item. In another example, thesearch query may be used to search for descriptions of an auction item.It should be noted that the search query may be provided by a user. Inan example embodiment, the user may input the search query in the GPSapparatus, for example, with the use of a touch screen on the GPSapparatus.

At 304, the GPS apparatus may then transmit a request for auction datato the online auction server. The request for online auction dataincludes the search query. In response to the transmission, the GPSapparatus at 306 receives auction data from the online auction serverthat includes the locations of one or more auction items that satisfythe search query. The auction data may additionally includedescriptions, titles, bid prices, shipping costs, and other auction dataassociated with auction items. With the auction data, the GPS apparatusmay then display the locations of the auction items on a map at 308.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a general overview of a method, inaccordance with an example embodiment, for acquiring an auction itemwith the locations of the auction items displayed. In an exampleembodiment, method 400 may be implemented by auction mapping API moduleof FIG. 2, employed in a GPS apparatus, such as the GPS apparatus shownFIGS. 1 and 2. With the locations of the auction items displayed, a usermay select one or more auction items to acquire. The user may, forexample, select the auction items with the use of a touch screen on theGPS apparatus. In turn, as shown in FIG. 4, the GPS apparatus receivesthe selection of an auction item at 402. The auction item is identifiedby an auction item identifier. The auction item identifier is data thatrefers to or establishes the identity of a selected auction item. Theauction item identifier may include a variety of alphanumeric code. Forexample, the auction item identifier may be a unique numerical value oralphanumeric string assigned to a particular auction item. After theselection is received, the GPS apparatus transmits the auction itemidentifier associated with the selected auction item to an onlineauction server at 404 for further processing, as described in morebelow.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a graphical user interface, in accordance with anexample embodiment, of a map with locations of auction items. FIG. 5illustrates an example of graphical user interface 500 that may bedisplayed by a GPS apparatus. As shown, graphical user interface 500includes map 502. Additionally included are icon region 504 and detailregion 506 that are overlaid over map 502. Icon region 504 identifies anauction item and the position of the icon region relative to map 502. Inbrief, icon region 504 identifies a location of the auction item. Forexample, icon region 504 is positioned close to the intersection of twostreets, as shown on map 502. As such, the auction item is located closeto the intersection of two streets.

Graphical user interface 500 also may include detail region 506. In anexample embodiment, detail region 506 is generated or displayed inresponse to a selection of icon region 504. For example, graphical userinterface 500 initially includes only icon region 504 overlaid over map502. If a user wants more information about the auction item associatedwith icon region 504, the user may select the icon region with, forexample, a mouse or touch screen. In response to the selection of iconregion 504, detail region 506 is displayed. Detail region 506 mayinclude auction data associated with the auction item. For example, asshown in FIG. 5, detail region 506 includes a title, an image, ashipping cost, and other auction data associated with the auction item.

In addition to the auction data, a portion of detail region 506 mayenable a selection of the auction item to acquire, in accordance with anexample embodiment. For example, detail region 506 may include acquireregion 508, which is illustrated as a “Get IT now” button. As shown inFIG. 5, acquire region 508 is located within detail region 506. However,it should be noted that acquire region may also be located outside ofdetail region 506. The acquire region 508 or this portion of detailregion 506 enables a user to initiate the acquisition of the auctionitem through a single input command. For example, the user may make theselection by a single click on acquire region 508 with a mouse or bytouching the acquire region once on a display. As explained in moredetail below, the user may receive a telephone call. The user may answerthe telephone call and acquire the auction item through the telephonecall. Accordingly, in an example embodiment, acquire region 508 or aportion of detail region 506 may enable the initialization of a call toa telephone number through a single input command.

It should be appreciated that any number of suitable layouts can bedesignated for region and button layouts illustrated above as FIG. 5does not represent all possible layout options available. Thedisplayable appearance of the regions and buttons (regions 504, 506, and508) can be defined by a variety of geometric shapes (e.g., rectangle,square, circle, triangle, etc.), alphanumeric characters (e.g., A, v, t,Q, 1, 9, 10, etc.), symbols (e.g., $, *, @, Ω, ∞, etc.), shading,pattern (e.g. solid, hatch, stripes, dots, etc.), and color.Furthermore, for example, acquire region 508 or other regions, may beomitted or dynamically assigned. It should also be appreciated that theregions can be fixed or customizable. In addition, a GPS apparatus mayhave a fixed set of layouts, utilize a defined protocol or language todefine a layout, or an external structure can be reported to the GPSapparatus that defines the layout. Finally, clicking or selecting on aregion or button of graphics user interface as discussed above maytrigger code to cause the functionality described herein.

FIG. 6 is a simplified block diagram of a module included in an onlineauction server, in accordance with an example embodiment. Online auctionserver 106 includes online auction application module 110 that basicallyhandles the transactions associated with an online auction. For example,as explained in more detail below, online auction application module 110may communicate with a GPS apparatus to acquire an auction item and mayalso facilitate communication between the GPS apparatus and a voiceportal server.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a general overview of a method, inaccordance with an example embodiment, for accessing auction data froman online auction server. In an example embodiment, method 700 may beimplemented by online auction application module 110 of FIG. 6, employedin an online auction server, such as online auction server 106 shownFIGS. 1 and 6. As described above, a user may initially submit a searchquery to search for one or more auction items within a particularlocation that satisfy the search query. In turn, as shown in FIG. 7, theonline auction server or online auction application module receives arequest from the GPS apparatus for auction data at 702. In an exampleembodiment, the request includes a search query and a location. Thelocation may be of the GPS apparatus or may be an arbitrary locationspecified by the user. In an example embodiment, after the location isreceived, the location may be converted into a location format that isused by or acceptable to the online auction server. For example, thelocation may be initially in longitude and latitude and the onlineauction server may convert the longitude and latitude into acorresponding zip code.

At 704, the online auction server may then search for one or moreauction items based on the received search query and location. In anexample, the online auction server may search for auction items in adatabase that satisfy the search query and match a particular zip code.In another example, the online auction server may search for auctionitems located in an area defined by a radius, where the longitude andlatitude from the request define the center of the area. After theauction item is located, the auction data associated with the auctionitem is accessed at 706. To access the auction data, the auction datamay be retrieved from a database. As described above, the auction datamay include the title, description, current bid price, shipping cost,initial bid price, and other auction data. The auction data mayadditionally include a location of the auction item. At 708, onlineauction server then transmits a response to the request for auctiondata. Here, the response includes the auction data and the response istransmitted to the GPS apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of a general overview of a method, inaccordance with an example embodiment, for accessing auction data froman online auction server in response to a selection of an auction item.In an example embodiment, method 800 may be implemented by onlineauction application module 110 of FIG. 6, employed in an online auctionserver, such online auction server 106 shown FIGS. 1 and 6. As describedabove, a user may select an auction item to acquire through the use of aGPS apparatus. In turn, as shown in FIG. 8, the online auction server oronline auction application module receives an auction item identifier,which identifies the selected auction item, from the GPS apparatus at802.

With the receipt of the auction item identifier, the online auctionserver then accesses the auction data associated with the auction itemidentifier at 804. For example, access may include the retrieval of theauction data from a database. Here, in an example embodiment, theauction data may include a user identifier. The user identifier is datathat refers to or establishes the identity of a user associated with theacquisition or transaction (e.g., a buyer). As described in more detailbelow, the user identifier may be used to locate a telephone numberassociated with the user. In another example embodiment, the auctiondata may additionally include the telephone number associated with theuser. At 806, the auction data is then transmitted to a voice portalserver.

As discussed above, a voice portal server generally delivers content toa telephone. Here, the voice portal server receives auction data fromthe online auction server. This auction data is associated with one ormore auction items that are selected by a user for acquisition. Theauction data may include a user identifier and/or telephone number. Inan example embodiment, the user may be registered with the voice portalserver, and information associated with the user, such as telephonenumber, may be stored in the voice portal server. As a result, thetelephone number of a user stored on the voice portal server may belocated with the use of the user identifier. For example, the voiceportal server may search for and retrieve a telephone number stored inthe voice portal server that matches a particular user identifier.

With the telephone number, the voice portal server then calls thetelephone with the telephone number. The user with the telephonereceives the call from the voice portal server and may then bid on orplace an order for the auction item through the telephone. For example,the voice portal server may call the telephone and provide a voicerendering of the auction data, such as a description and current bid ofthe auction item. The voice portal server may also provide options suchthat the user may acquire the auction item. Such options may include,for example, placing a bid on the auction item, buying the auction item,and placing the auction item on hold. Other options may includecancelling a bid, changing an account of the user, and other options.

With the options provided, the user may make a request to acquire theauction item. The request may be a voice request or an input from thetelephone (e.g., a telephone key). The voice portal server receives therequest to acquire the auction item and transmits the request to theonline auction server. If the request is a voice request, then voiceportal server may apply voice recognition to convert the voice requestinto a data request, which is subsequently transmitted to the onlineserver. In turn, the online auction server receives the request toacquire the auction item from the voice portal server and handles thetransactions such that the user can acquire the auction item (e.g.,makes a bid on the auction item, directly purchase the auction item, andother transactions).

FIG. 9 is a simplified block diagram of a machine or apparatus in theexample form of computer system within which a set of instructions, forcausing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein, may be executed. In alternative embodiments, themachine operates as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g.,networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine mayoperate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in server-clientnetwork environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (ordistributed) network environment. The machine may be a network router,switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing a set ofinstructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be takenby that machine. Further, while only a single machine is illustrated,the term “machine” shall also be taken to include any collection ofmachines that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets)of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein.

The example computer system 900 includes processor 902 (e.g., a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU) or both), mainmemory 904 and static memory 906, which communicate with each other viabus 908. Computer system 900 may further include video display unit 910(e.g., a plasma display, a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode raytube (CRT)). Computer system 900 also includes alphanumeric input device912 (e.g., a keyboard), user interface (UI) navigation device 914 (e.g.,a mouse), disk drive unit 916, signal generation device 918 (e.g., aspeaker) and network interface device 920.

Disk drive unit 916 includes machine-readable medium 922 on which isstored one or more sets of instructions and data structures (e.g.,software 924) embodying or utilized by any one or more of themethodologies or functions described herein. Software 924 may alsoreside, completely or at least partially, within main memory 904 and/orwithin processor 902 during execution thereof by computer system 900,main memory 904 and processor 902 also constituting machine-readable,tangible media.

Software 924 may further be transmitted or received over network 926 vianetwork interface device 920 utilizing any one of a number of well-knowntransfer protocols (e.g., HTTP).

While machine-readable medium 922 is shown in an example embodiment tobe a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should be takento include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized ordistributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that storethe one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readable medium”shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing,encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by the machineand that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present application, or that is capable of storing,encoding or carrying data structures utilized by or associated with sucha set of instructions. The term “machine-readable medium” shallaccordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, solid-statememories, optical and magnetic media, and carrier wave signals.

Although an embodiment has been described with reference to specificexample embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications andchanges may be made to these embodiments without departing from thebroader spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, thespecification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative ratherthan a restrictive sense.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R.§1.72(b), requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to quicklyascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted withthe understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit thescope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing DetailedDescription, it can be seen that various features are grouped togetherin a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure.This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting anintention that the claimed embodiments require more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of asingle disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing onits own as a separate embodiment.

1. A graphical user interface (GUI), comprising: a map; a first regionidentifying an auction item, a position of the first region relative tothe map identifying a location of the auction item; a second regiondisplaying auction data associated with the auction item, wherein thesecond region is generated in response to a selection of the firstregion; and a third region enabling a selection of the auction item toacquire.
 2. The GUI of claim 1, wherein the third region enablesinitialization of a communication session to a seller.
 3. The GUI ofclaim 1, wherein a portion of the second region enables initializationof a communication session to a seller.
 4. The GUI of claim 2, whereinthe communication session includes a call to a telephone number througha single input command.
 5. The GUI of claim 2, wherein the third regionis within the second region.
 6. The GUI of claim 1, wherein the auctiondata associated with the auction item includes at least one of a title,a description, an image, a bid price, or a shipping cost.
 7. The GUI ofclaim 1, including a fourth region allowing input of a search query. 8.The GUI of claim 7, wherein the search query includes at least one ofkeywords, texts, sentences, query languages, numbers, questions, orequations.
 9. A system comprising: a global positioning system (GPS)apparatus configured to: automatically identify a location of the GPSapparatus; receive a search query associated with an online auction;transmit a request for the auction data to an online auction server, therequest including the search query and the location of the GPSapparatus; receive the auction data that includes a location of one ormore auction items; and display the location of the one or more auctionitems on a map; receive a selection of one of the one or more auctionitems, the selected auction item being identified by an auction itemidentifier; and transmit the auction item identifier to the onlineauction server; and the online auction server in communication with theGPS apparatus, the online auction server being configured to: receivethe auction item identifier from the GPS apparatus; access auction dataassociated with the auction item identifier; and transmit the auctiondata to a voice portal server.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein theGPS apparatus is further configured to: receive a search queryassociated with an online auction; transmit a request for the auctiondata to the online auction server, the request including the searchquery and a location of the GPS apparatus; receive the auction data thatincludes a location of the auction item; and display the location of theauction item on a map.
 11. The system of claim 9, further comprising thevoice portal server in communication with the online auction server, thevoice portal server being configured to call a telephone number and toreceive a request to acquire the auction item.
 12. A method comprising:receiving, via an input mechanism of a device, a search query associatedwith items offered for purchase; transmitting, via a network, a requestbased on the received search query for data associated with the itemsoffered for purchase; receiving, via the network, the requested dataassociated with items offered for purchase, the data including alocation of each of item offered for purchase represented in thereceived data; and plotting on a map an item identifier for each itemoffered for purchase based on the location data of the respective itemoffered for purchase.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:receiving a location input; and wherein the transmitting the requestbased on the received search query further includes the location input.14. The method of claim 13, wherein receiving the location inputincludes receiving input from user.
 15. The method of claim 13, whereinthe location input is received from a GPS receiver.
 16. The method ofclaim 12, further comprising: receiving a selection of an itemidentifier of an item offered for purchase; and transmitting dataidentifying the selected item to initiate a purchase of the item. 17.The method of claim 12, wherein the method is performed on a mobiletelephone.